Currently, there are a variety of hand sanitizers available on the market. Hand sanitizers can be used in place of hand-washing when hand washing is impossible or inconvenient. The currently marketed products come in one of four types: an alcohol gel which may contain some form of moisturizing agent, a lotion or gel containing chlorhexidine, a lotion or gel containing a quaternary ammonium compound, or a lotion or gel containing an antibacterial agent such as Triclosan. One drawback of the currently marketed hand sanitizers has been the limited range of efficacy against a variety of harmful microbial agents.
Spore forming bacteria, including Clostridium difficile, have introduced some serious challenges into the healthcare setting. These organisms can form spore coats allowing them to survive treatments with typical hand disinfection materials, such as alcohol gels, chlorhexidine gluconate scrubs, quaternary ammonium scrubs and lotions, as well as triclosan lotions and gels. Following this survival they multiply in abundance with a lack of competition. Traditional hand-washing may remove a small percentage of contamination from health-care workers' (HCWs) hands, however there are numerous studies indicating that adherence to hand hygiene guidelines with traditional soap and water technique is inconsistent. HCWs have serious time pressures and require a portable and convenient means of sanitization. Development of a formula combining a sporicidal agent with cosmetic ingredients to create a sporicidal hand treatment that will be effective against vegetative and spore-forming organisms, while being non-irritating to the skin is an important development for the healthcare community.